Anyone who tuned into “60 Minutes” last night got something of a treat.  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made an appearance during which he said several reassuring things.

First off, America’s not screwed.  “I have every confidence this economy will recover, and recover in a strong and sustained way,” stated Bernanke according to Christine Buckley and Brian Blackstone.  “We’ll see the recession coming to an end probably this year.  We’ll see recovery beginning next year.”

Secondly, as money that’s been taken from all citizens goes towards saving faceless corporations, he feels our pain.  “I understand why the American people are angry,” Bernanke said.  “It’s absolutely unfair that taxpayer dollars are going to prop up a company that made these terrible bets.”

The Federal Reserve Chairman also hit out at the huge salaries and bonuses some execs receive.

We don’t want to see Bernanke show up on primetime television every night - that would probably signal that something had gone seriously wrong - but the “60 Minutes” visit went very well.  And the stock market, rather than crash, only went down a few points today, so it would seem most investors took comfort in his words.